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Trade Secrets

Rather than wonder where tomorrow's top techs will come from, Mercedes-Benz is channeling some serious money and equipment into high school training.

I arrived a bit early at Automotive
High School in Brooklyn, New York, in response to an invitation to the
grand opening of a new lab at the school. People were setting up tables
and chairs and putting last-minute touches on an already immaculate
facility. Even the students were brushed and cleaned and looked (almost)
like they were about to sing Christmas carols. Then there was the
unmistakable rumble of an overhead door rolling up. In the next moment a
brand-new silver and black Mercedes-Benz SLK350 rolled in and took
center stage. The place was suddenly looking more like an automotive
press conference than a high school shop.

What, you might ask, was a
brand-spanking-new Mercedes SLK350 doing in this New York City high
school? The occasion was the grand opening of the new Mercedes-Benz
Laboratory donated to Automotive High School. Mercedes-Benz’s overall
support to this school has totaled about $50,000 over the past two
years, with an additional $10,000 presented at the opening of the new
lab. It’s one of the few high schools in the U.S. to offer a
comprehensive automotive curriculum. Automotive High School has attained
Master Certification in all eight service areas of the National
Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). The students will
be prepared for eventual employment in the automotive industry when they
complete a rigorous program with majors in auto mechanics, auto body and
information technology. Mercedes hopes that some will go on to the
Mercedes-Benz ELITE Technician Training Program. The school even offers
a course in journalism to students who want a career in the automotive
service business.

Naturally, the
students were all over the SLK350, and listened attentively as Wayne
Hays, Supervisor of the Mercedes-Benz New Hire Technology program,
explained the state-of-the-art technology offered by the SLK350. From
air bags to the unique AirScarf head-warming system in the seat backs,
Hays explained how the various systems work and why Mercedes put them in
this sleek roadster.

All this car ogling
took place with the full approval of the deservedly proud principal,
Melissa H. Silberman, and Thomas Cassino, the instructor in charge of
the Mercedes-Benz automotive lab at the school. During my conversation
with Cassino, it became very obvious that he’s one automotive instructor
who really loves his job and shows genuine affection for his students.
The students I spoke with said they thought Cassino was a terrific
teacher and a good friend. And, frankly, I was quite impressed with
their understanding of OBD II and trouble code problem diagnosis.

The fortunate students
at this high school now have a vehicle right there in their newly
refurbished shop and lab they can train on. While I watched, students
used a scanner to pull trouble codes and diagnose an engine control
problem. This was a rare opportunity for high school students to
actually get hands-on training on a luxury vehicle.

One of the projects
going on in the lab is the conversion of a donated 1982 Mercedes from a
standard diesel engine to an engine that will run on common cooking
oil�the kind you’d get from a restaurant deep fryer. When the fast food
restaurants you see on practically every other corner accumulate
worn-out deep fryer oil, they have to pay to have it picked up just like
auto repair shops must do with their waste engine oil. With the
biodiesel-powered Mercedes the students at Automotive High School are
building, that oil will be used for go-power.

A local McDonald’s has
promised to donate its waste cooking oil to the school, and students
have already begun storing their own household waste cooking oil in
anticipation of the day when the biodiesel Mercedes will roll out of the
lab. When it does, it will be used to demonstrate environmentally
friendly ways of running a car. In the process, it will help students to
learn how a nongasoline engine works. When all the startup bugs of the
conversion are worked out and the car is running reliably, it will
become the school’s driver’s education car. Instructor Cassino said the
project is about 25% finished, but hopes to get the biodiesel up and
running very soon.

The Trade Secret is to
think outside the box and be proactive when it comes to running your
shop. That’s how Mercedes-Benz is tackling the nationwide shortage of
trained automotive technicians, which is estimated to be greater than
100,000 at present and growing every day. They know that without a ready
source of bright, young technicians, owners of their state-of-the-art
vehicles eventually will not be able to get those vehicles repaired
properly. The program at Brooklyn’s Automotive High School is a clear
example that cooperation between carmakers and secondary schools is the
best way to build a future for young technicians, and in doing so assure
the future repairability of their products.

Klaus Ulkann,
Mercedes-Benz VP for customer service, said at the opening of the new
lab: “When I look at some of the projects already taking place here at
Automotive High School, I realize that students are getting a first-rate
education. New projects like the low-emission Mercedes diesel being set
up to run on cooking oil...this is evidence of some of the new thinking
about cars of the future and the exciting new possibilities that lie
ahead.” I could
not agree more.